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The Best Credit Cards for College Students

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When I was in college, my mom seemed to call me nearly every week to confirm that I was paying my entire credit card balance in full and on time. It was as if she knew that credit cards and college students do not have a good history together. At the time, banks were employing every tactic possible to get large amounts credit into the hands of young adults. So much so that many felt these banks were acting more like predatory lenders than respectable financial institutions. In response, Congress passed the CARD Act of 2009. This groundbreaking piece of legislation set limits on banks' on-campus marketing efforts and required young adults who applied for credit cards to show some means of paying off loans.

Nevertheless, students continue to obtain and abuse credit cards. They tend to incur debt and struggle to make payments on time. While these are bad practices at any stage of life, starting these habits at a young age sets a terrible precedent for how students will continue to manage their finances after graduation. Therefore it is critical that parents work closely with students to carefully guide them into financial independence. (See also: 40+ College Resources for Parents and Students)

Choosing the Best Student Credit Card

So what should parents and students look for in a credit card? Look for simple terms, no annual fees, and if possible, maybe some cash back rewards. You don't want to get in the habit of paying interest on your credit card balance, but if you have to, it shouldn't be well outside the market rates. Also, opening up a credit card account at the same bank that the student holds their checking account is a great idea. This way, timely payments are just a transfer between accounts rather than a transaction between separate institutions.

Journey® Student Rewards from Capital One®

The Journey® Student Rewards from Capital One® is marketed to students and features 1% cash back on all purchases, every month, with no annual fee. In fact, Capital One offers an additional 0.25% cash reward on the cash back earned each month when cardholders pay on time.

Barclaycard Ring® Mastercard®

While not a card targeted specifically for students, the Barclaycard Ring® Mastercard® is a great card for them nevertheless. It offers a 0% intro APR for 15 months on balance transfers made within the first 45 days of opening the account. (The balance transfer fee is $5 or 2%, whichever is greater. There is no balance transfer fee for transfers posted to the account after 45 days of account opening.) The APR for balance transfers after the intro period and the APR for purchases is 13.99% (variable). This is also the first card to introduce crowdsourcing into its terms, allowing user feedback to affect the terms and conditions of the credit card. Cardmembers can discuss issues and vote on new ideas in an official community portal. It also has a Giveback™ feature which allows cardmembers to receive a percentage of the company's profits. There is no annual fee. See Terms.

No matter which card they choose, students face treacherous path on their road to financial independence and responsibility. By working together to choose the best card for their needs, parents and students can smooth out this critical path to adulthood.

Disclaimer: The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

Student credit card is very difficult to get in india specially if you are below 18 there are few tips which you can use to get it for your online purchases and as always another informative post liked it

When I was in college, some of the cheapest students clothed themselves entirely in giveaway t-shirts that CC companies gave out if you filled out an application. Not great for short term credit scores, but it kept them in T-shirts.

Wise Bread is an independent, award-winning, advertising-supported website. Many credit card offers that appear here are from companies from which Wise Bread receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). Wise Bread does not include all card offers in the marketplace.

Best Credit Cards

Advertiser Disclosure: Many of the credit card offers that appear on the website are from credit card companies from which Wise Bread receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). This site does not include all credit card companies or all available credit card offers. Please view our advertiser disclosure page for more information.